Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Welcome to Trailer Park Tuesday, a showcase
of new book trailers and, in a few cases, previews of book-related movies. Unless their last name is Grisham or King, authors will probably never see their
trailers on the big screen at the local cineplex. And that's a shame because a
lot of hard work goes into producing these short marriages between book and
video. So, if you like what you see, please spread the word and help these
videos go viral.

The premise for Stephen L. Carter's new novel The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln begins with a simple question: What if Abraham Lincoln hadn't been killed by that bullet on April 14, 1865? (Just like Seth Grahame-Smith's lower-brow novel asked, "What if Abe Lincoln was a vampire killer?") Carter's alt-history fiction takes up the story in 1867 when Lincoln is on trial for overstepping his constitutional authority as President. The fast-and-furious book trailer only hints at what's in store for readers (Mary Todd Lincoln drowns, Lincoln's lawyer and a prostitute are murdered), but it's enough to intrigue those who weren't already hooked by the title. Even though it's short, I like this trailer for its juxtaposition of driving rock music and old-fashioned typeface which comes straight from handbills of the 19th century. It reflects the tension of What Was and What Might Have Been which propels the plot forward. This is one trial I'm eager to witness.

No comments:

Post a Comment

The Quivering Pen

The Quivering Pen's motto can be summed up in two words: Book Evangelism. The blog is written and curated by David Abrams, author of the novels Fobbit (Grove/Atlantic, 2012) and Brave Deeds (coming in 2017), from his home office in Butte, Montana. It is fueled by early-morning cups of coffee, the occasional bowl of Cheez-Its, and a lifelong love of good books.